Commentaries on the Laws of England: In Four Books; with an Analysis of the Work. In Two Volumes, From the Nineteenth London Edition. With a Life of the Author and Notes by Christian, Chitty, Lee, Hovenden, and Ryland: And also References to American Cas…

xxxvi, 404, 468 pp. Volume 1 of 2. From nineteenth London edition. Includes genealogical fold-out. Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769) stands as the first great effort to reduce the English common law to a unified and rational system. Blackstone demonstrated that the English law as a system of justice was comparable to Roman law and the civil law of the Continent. Clearly and elegantly written, the work achieved immediate renown and exerted a powerful influence on legal education in England and in America which was to last into the late nineteenth century. The book is regarded not only as a legal classic but as a literary masterpiece.